Switch for suspended railways



(No Model.) I

V. HOERSGHELMANN.

SWITCH FOR SUSPENDED RAILWAYS.

No. 390,000. Patented 000. 2, 188B.

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UNITED STATES PATENT rrrcn.

VALENTINE HOERSCH'ELDIIANN, OF BROOKLYN, NE\V YORK.

SWITCH FOR SUSPENDED RAELWAYS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 390,600, dated @ctober2, 1888.

Serial No. 269,676. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, VALENTINE HoEnsoH- ELMANN, of Brooklyn, in thecounty ofKings and State of New York, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Switches for Suspended Railways, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to certain improvements in switches for suspendedrailways, such as are used in store-houses and refrigerator-buildingsfor carrying and transferring meat and other bulky articles; and theinvention consists in the combination, with the main rail suspended byhangers, of branch rails and of switch-rails pivoted to the main andbranch rails, the branch switch-rails being curved toward the main railand connected with themain switch-rail by chains and pulleysorby chainsand levers, so that thelowering of the main or one of the branchswitch-rails raises antomatically the other switch-rails,so as to permitthe passage of the loaded carrier without requiring the setting of theswitch rails by hand for the passage of the load.

The invention consists, further, of an oblique and beveledjoint of thebranch switch-rails with their branch rails, whereby the branch switchrails are moved out of the way of the traveling carrier, as will bedescribed fully hereinafter, and finally pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of myimproved switch for suspended railways, showing one of the branchswitch-rails in lowered position and the other switch-rails raised.Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively an end elevation and aplan of Fig. 1.Figs. 4, 5, G, and 7 show end elevations and plans of modifiedconstructions of my improved switch. Figs. 8, 9, and 10 are details ofthe oblique and beveled pivot-joint between the branch rails and theswitch-rails, and Figs. 11, 12, and.13 are details of a plainpivot-joint for the main switch-rail and main rail.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the main rail, and B B thebranch rails, of my improved switch for suspended railways. The

branch rails connect with the main rail A by means of branchswitch-rails C C, while the gap in the main rail A is closed by the mainswitch-rail A. The rails A and B are suspended from the beams of thestorehouse or refrigeratorbuilding by means of hangers E, attached tosaid beams. The load-carrying pulley-block or carrier D is arranged totravel on the rails A or B, and is made open at that side facing therails and hangers, so as to move past the hangers without beingobstructed in its motion.

The branch switch-rails O are applied to the branch railsB B by apivot-joint, which is shown in detail in Figs. 8, 9,and 10,and which isformed of obliquely-beveled ends, ff, which are connected by apivot,f,at right angles to the rails, said pivotjoint having the advantage ofquickly moving the curved branch switch-rails G C out ofthe way of thecarrier D when the same passes over the main switchrail A. The mainswitchrail A is connected by a chain or wire rope, g, which passes oversuitable guide rollers or pulleys, g, with a pulley, 9 to thecircumference of which the chain is attached, as shown in Fig. 2.

The branch switch-rails O O are also connected by chains or ropes h,which pass over guide-pulleys 71 with pulleys h which pulleys h areattached to the pulley so as to turn therewith on the pivot of the same,as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 2. The ends of the chains or ropes h areattached to the circumference of the pulleys If, so that the passage ofthe carrier over one of the branch rails will lower its switch-rail andautomatically lift the main switch-rail and the other branch switch-railout of the way of the carrier,while the passage of the carrier over themain rail will lower the main switch-rail and lift the branchswitch-rails, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, so that the load can betransferred from either one of the branch rails to the main rail in areliable and automatic manner without requiring the setting of theswitch-rails by hand and the locking of the switch-rails into raisedposition by special locking devices.

When only one branch rail is used in con nection with the main rail, thesimplified construction shown in Figs. 5 and 7 is employed,

in which case the suspending chains or ropes of the switch-rails arepassed over one pulley, the switch-rails balancing each other thereby ina simple and effective manner. When two or more branch rails are used,the chains or ropes of all the branch switch-rails are applied to thepulleys h (Shown in Figs. 1 and 2.) In place of the same, theconstruction shown in Figs. 4 and 6 may be used, in which the chains orropes h h of the branch switch-rails G are applied to a lever, h", whichis fulcrulned by a center pin, h, to a slotted guide-pieceflzf", whilethe chain or rope g of the main switchrails A is passed over a pulley,h, arranged above the fulerumed lever h and attached to the middle partof said lever, so as to produce by the lowering of the main switch-railthe raising of the lever h and both branch switchrails and by thelowering of-one of the branch switch-rails the raising of the otherbranch switch-rail and main switch-rail.

The joint of the main switch-rail with the main rail is a simplestraight pivot-joint, and is shown clearly in Figs. 11, 12, and 13, themain switch-rail being straight, so as to form a direct connection orbridge from one section of the main rail to the other.

In case the load is to be moved over the main or branch rails in anopposite direction to the one in which the switch is worked,theswitchrails have to be set by hand into the required position, as theswitch can only be worked automatically in the direction indicated byarrows in Fig. 3-that is to say, from the branch rails to the main rail.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. The combination, with the main and branch railsand their supporting-hangers, of pivoted main and branch switch-rails,chains attached at one end of said switch-rails, and pulleys to whichthe other ends of the chains are attached,so that the lowering of eitherone of the switch-rails produces automatically the raising of the otherswitch rails, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, in a switch for suspended railways, with the branchrail, of a switch-rail connected to the branch rail by a pivot-jointformed of tapering and obliquelybeveled ends and a pivot at right anglesto the branch and switch-rails, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, with the main rail, branch rails, and theirsupporting-hangers, of main and branch switch-rails pivoted to the mainand branch rails, chains attached at one end to the switch-rails,guidepulleys for said chains, and pulleys to which the other ends of theconnecting-chains are attached, substantially as set forth.

In testimony thatIclaim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

I VALENTINE IIOERSCIIELMANN.

Witnesses:

PAUL GOEPEL, SIDNEY MANN.

